Rooftopping Toronto: Rising Above Brutalism At City Hall
At the peak of the concrete behemoth in the middle of downtown Toronto we all know as Toronto City Hall lies a spectacular view. The love/hate brutalist design of the building itself hides its grace at its very pinnacle, it would seem.
It is disconcerting that this vantage point is hidden away from so many, for so much of the year. That being said, whenever I snatch a chance to rise above the sterile eye-shaped structure, I make sure to take my time to gaze about.
The rather severe fences and walls surrounding adjacent Osgoode Hall have always marred my view of the building as a complete picture, so viewing the beautiful building from above was quite a treat...
Looking Eastward, I caught a glimpse of some older material, rooftopping-wise...
The view a bit farther South revealed some familiar smoke stacks...
Glancing up Bay Street, the new(ish) Ryerson/Canadian Tire et al building revealed itself to contain a courtyard - something I would never have guessed at street level, given its rather dull and purposive big-box-esque exterior...
I read once that the interior curvature of City Hall itself is supposed to give a sense of embrace and safety. From this view, it seemed more like an enveloping crunch...
Across the way is the stunning Canada Life building, whose top always gives us a tip as to the weather...
For years I have struggled to like this wild-child of the 60s; Modernist-Brutalism has never been my taste, yet its architectural prevalence leads me to the conclusion that I am merely 'missing the point', aesthetically speaking.
In an attempt to rise above my own biases and properly incorporate these bizarre shapes into an urban milieu in my own mind, then, I choose to use these concrete giants as pedestals. To maintain a fluid yet unique self-concept of city, it is often necessary to use those seeming oddities as a means to an end, rather than an end in themselves, as tools rather than obstacles.
(To see the rest of the photo set, as well as high-res. versions of those above, you can check out my flickr slide-show below.)
Comments (11)
Oooh, you got to the observation deck! How'd you get up there? It has been closed for many years.
DS: it is actually open once a year for 'Doors Open Toronto' - and if you hunt around and talk to the right people (usually via security / a few phone calls), they will let you up other times, albeit briefly.
Even then, the deck itself has so many bars/nets/etc, so it is hard to take a crisp shot...
jonathan@blogTO
i was watching flashpoint last night where they were on the roof of city hall...i'd love to go up there to see the view as well. great pics!
For different views of the Ryerson/Canadian Tire building's courtyard thingy:
Not a lot of greenery, unfortunately.
Great shots! Being a child of the '60s myself, I've always loved the architecture of the mid-50s to late '60s. City Hall really put Toronto on the map (but then so did Yorkdale!)
It's always interesting how different people's viewpoints are with respect to art and architecture. To my tastes, Old City hall is garish and over-done, as I have always felt most 'old' architecture is (with the exception of certain art deco masterpieces.) I've always admired the simplicity and clean lines of 'modern' architecture. As a child (when my mother would bring us downtown to Simpsons), I was awestruck by the 'new' City Hall and the Commerce Court (then under construction.)
If city hall were surrounded by green grass and trees and cool landscaping instead of that shitty sea of concrete, it wouldn't seem as brutalishesque. I like the shape of the buildings - they're just sitting on a horrible base.
I'd probably categorize New City Hall more as "neo-expressionist" (a la Eero Saarinen" than brutalist. For a true brutalist city hall, go to Boston.
You take nice photos, but cut it out with the effects! No more sepia tones, no more blurring, go cold-turkey from photo shop and let these photos shine! Just my opinion... Thanks for the clicks.
Josh: thanks for the advice, but I actually prefer my style - which I switch-up depending on what I am shooting. I do not use photoshop, actually (I use something much less complicated); I like sepia for city-snaps when an older building is in the foreground, and the 'blurring' is usually because I use a lensbaby, so it's all 'in camera' and not some cheesy after-effect. To each their own, though, and I appreciate your criticism : )
jonathan@blogTO
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